VX ran it last year, and said it's best to keep things moving right along after the nominations are finished, so here we go. We're gonna do the first round of the TSM 2008 Poster of the Year tournament. 64 people are in, and we shall get it down to 1 champion eventually, but for now we're just picking our favorite 32.

Now last year, we had the specific regions like Sports, Elite Jerks, NHB Vets, and Miscellaneous, but because not everyone seemed to like that, I've come up with four totally random, equal, and semantically nonsensical regions, which are Indiana Basin Silt, Help I'm a Rock, Culture Beat, and Powderfinger. They imply nothing, they're just names.

To review the voting guidelines from the first thread, no gimmicks, no inactives, and no abstaining from more than one match. Explain votes when you can. Ridiculously simple. Without further ado, here are the brackets for the tournament, featuring the matchups for the first round.

KOAB got his 5 seed in Help, I'm a Rock. Nice... I'm disappointed that Ripper is in the same Bracket as Juggernaut Milky since he was my darkhorse winner, but now I don't know... I'm calling for the upset of Cowboy# over Bob, and BL should dominate Powderfinger.

4. Ripper. I like arguing with the guy, so that should get him past the first round. His avatar is great too.

12. Bigolshitty. He's one of very few liberals who can get off their points without attacking everyone else, and plus, I like the guy.

2. Venkman. He's a great poster, not only that, but I don't want to vote for any Boston sports fans.

7. Canadian Guitarist. Hey, he mentioned me during his nomination process, although he didn't actually nominate me. And he likes the Habs. Who doesn't like the Habs?

14. Cena's Writer. I may have coined the term Matt Youngin' it, but that doesn't mean I'm going to vote for the guy, yet, anyway. Cena's Writer is a good poster, and one of few tolerable Yankee fans.

11. CWM. Poor guy, with that low seed. But still, I like voting for people I've argued with in the past, although our differences certainly aren't the same now. I like KKK a lot, so this was a difficult choice.

HELP, I'M A ROCK

1. King Kamala Classic. I nominated Carlito Brigante as a joke. He's an extremely shitty poster, and one of the worst 5 on the site. I'd vote for almost anyone instead of him.

9. I have to go with CanadianChris. NYU was unable to reconnect with his base. Plus, he started a vote for me thread. Automatic loss.

4. King. Why the fuck wouldn't I vote for myself? Side is good, though, and I'd probably vote for him over a good-sized portion of the field.

5. MrRant. I don't want a difficult second round.

2. Slayer, more like gayer. Duh.

10. Who the fuck is Socksquatch.

14. Mole. That British guy is an awful poster. Mole got a lucky draw, here.

6. Treble. BECAUSE HE DOESN'T TALK.

CULTURE BEAT

1. Czech. Another easy vote.

8. Nobody votes for Alf, but I will anyway. I predict a loss for the kid from Indiana.

12. Snuffbox is better than pbone, and he likes boxing. It's a relatively easy vote.

2. VX wins. Even though he's not a Laker fan anymore, and I don't like the Packers. He's still more articulate than almost anyone on this site.

7. Gary Floyd. I like his blog.

14. I kinda have to go with Porter here. This was the hardest vote, thus far. He goes to bat for me when I need support in a debate, and he's a USC fan. I vote for USC fans.

6. bob barron. It's really hard to vote for someone that likes the Cowboys. But then you say you like the Colts too? Aw, fuck that.

POWDERFINGER

1. BL. The easiest vote in the entire tournament.

8. Kreese founded TSMPedia. Bored does a great college football contest. Kreese wins, by a slight margin. Not only that, but his avatar makes me laugh on those days when I stay up until 3 in the morning.

13. Spiff wins by default. Inc had a picture of two dudes FUCKING in an avatar, a while back. At the risk of sounding homophobic, well, that's kinda weird. And I can't vote for him as a result.

5. Edwin. He's not voting for Obama because Obama likes the Wire.

2. Al mods the sports folder well, and comments on my blog. If you comment on my blog, you'll be supported well into this tournament.

7. Cheech is another good "sports" poster. Seeing as I hardly read the video game folder, needless to say, I can't say much about Andrew.

3. Smues. Again, he comments on my blog. And I like him, which is more than I can say for DoCock. DoCock doesn't post enough for me to judge whether or not I like him.

6. Why would I vote for Marvin? Just delete that douchebag's posts when he comes in here and whines.

FWIW, there's nothing personal against anyone I didn't vote for unless I made it sound like it.

Milky (I'm not even sure who RedJed is)MiB (One of the sneaky great posters. I always forget about him but then he'll blow me away with some aweseome post)Ripper (Ginger sucks, I think)Bigolsmitty (The classic #12 over #5. I am still disappointed in smitty being neither big nor ol' though)Venkman (My breakout poster of the year for 2007)Nightwing (An emerging talent)CW (Homer for the Yanks and Knicks, but I still find him endearing. No easy task)KKK (Fry Mumia)

Help... Region

KKC (This is like when Duke plays Buttfuck U in the 1/16 matchup and wins by 60)CanadianChris (A personal favorite)King (LA > NY)Mr. Rant (A vote for a fellow NWer.)Slayer (Could JN News be the Sean Taylor of TSM?)Socksquatch (A tour de force the likes of which we haven't seen before)Cyber Mark (Champion of the teenager division)Treble (Jingus likes wrestling too much)

Beat Region

Czech (Possibly the geatest poster of all time)AlfDogg (Love that Pacers pride)Kinetic (Took me by storm with his transcendent posts in '07)SnuffBox (Pbone started strong with durgz and never regained his form)VX (Good poster and lives in Portland. A stellar combo)Gary Floyd (Good poster, bad taste in pictures)El Dandy (Mostly for adopting the Torn Condom alias)Cowboy#s (I like Bob but he's been under the radar this year)

MilkyMan In BlakRipperAgent (Gotta support a fellow J.G. Thirlwell fan)Venkman (I like him)Nightwing (New guy, but I kinda like him. One of the more reasonable, less annoying voices in CE)Matt Young (At least he doesn't cream himself over Hugo Chavez)kkktookmybabyaway

Help, I'm a Rock Region

King Kamala Classic (Good guy. Plus, there is no way I'm voting for Carlito Brigante)NYUKingKOAB (Because I miss his "We don't walk, we step!" avatar)SlayerCarnivalCyber MarkTreble (no way I'm voting for Jingus)

Milky - Who the hell is RedJed?Luke-oRipperSmitty - Once called me a drunken hippie, probably not as an insult. I certainly didn't take it as one.Venkman - He's from Canada. Represent.CanadianGutarist - Sorry, Nightwing. Also, you're welcome Czech; I don't usually refer to myself as CG, but thought this would be easier if you're using a spreadsheet still.Matt Young - I like Matt.KKK (in a very close one)

KingKamala - I don't dislike Carlito, but I'm a big fan of KKC.CanadianChris - Sorry, Nyu.King - Good hockey poster.Rant - By a nose. See my lamentation last night about KOAB being the more prominent drunken poster. His Charles Barkley sig kept it very very very close.SlayerCarnivalMole - Squeaks by.Treble - Good sport about the Leafs' struggles, especially when we go head-to-head. Also enlightened me to the comedy that is the Holiday Inn guy.

Timmy - I'll likely vote for Czech throughout, but he left me high and dry as the only Habs fan entrant, probably out of spite due to their victory over the Hawks Tuesday. Timmy gets the opening round nod.AlfKineticVitamin X - My boy.YNA sneaks by Gary FloydEl DandyBob Barron - because he's a Canuck.

BL SenseiIncandenzaEdwin Chave - For now, just because it'll take some getting used to Pimp Daddy Al.AndrewSmuesMarvin - I can't think of anything Scroty's done, and Marvin's been considerable help in the HD thread.

Indiana Basin Silt1. Milky. RedJed seems like a decent enough chap but Milky is a legend. This is a Vader circa '93 level squash here. 9. luke-0. Close one for me. I picked luke-o because we're somewhat chummy in the Poster Above You thread and I like the guy. I don't know why but I just do. Probably he's British. Rarely have I met or seen a British person that I don't like. 4. Ripper. Always entertaining- especially when making ludicrous arguments for the sake of making ludicrous arguments. I'm not sure if I know who Ginger Snaps is. Is she a chick? 5. Agent. Again bigolsmitty is a pretty good poster but Agent is a legend around here. 2. Dr. Venkman. My 3rd favorite poster here behind Milky and Kinetic. Just an all around swell guy and Cartman kind of sucks. Easy one here. 10. Nightwing. Another really close one for me. CandianGuitarist is good but Nightwing is one of the best under the radar posters here. 3. Matt Young. Another poster that I can't explain why I like them. I just do. I can see why people hate the guy but I don't. 6. kkk. I liked CWM back in the day but this is a case of "What have you done for me lately?" He hasn't done much memorable in a while. kkk is an affable old curmudgeon.

Help Me, I'm A Rock1. King Kamala Classic. Well who am I going to vote for one of the few posters I really dislike here or myself? Hmmmmmm....I'm picking me!9. CanadianChris. I'm not entirely familiar with the works of either posters but Chris gets the nod for not starting a campaign thread for himself. 4. King. King's a cool dude. That's all I really have to say about him. 5. KOAB. Don't really have an explanation here. KOAB is cool with me. 2. Slayer. I half jokingly wanted to pick JN News and maybe I would if he weren't against a great affable chap like Slayer. 7. Socksquatch. FART3. Cyber Mark. I love British posters. What a nice group of kids they are. 6. Treble. Jingus is alright but some of his posts annoy the fuck out of me.

Culture Beat1. Czech. Timmy is a poster to watch but Czech is a legend8. Alfdogg. Don't know much about Devo so I'm putting my vote for Alfdogg.4. Kinetic. 2nd favorite poster here behind Milky. I really like the guy. KingPk is a cool dude though but it's no real contest5.pbone. The TSM rookie of the year2. Vitamin X. Cool dude, though a bit preachy at times. Don't know much at all about TheFranchise7. Gary Floyd. Always says hi to me during the rare occasions I go into RAW or PPV chats. Cool dude. 3. El Dandy. Porter still posts here? 6. Bob Barron. I really like the guy and his SNL reports so sue me.

Powderfinger region1. Black Lushus by a country mile.8. Sensei John Kreese4. Incadenza. I thought he was a condescending, albeit often entertaining jerk until I found out about our mutal love for Todd Rundgren. 5. Edwin MacPhisto. A close one. Edwin wins on experience.2. Alkeiper7. Cheech3. Smues. Who's DoCock?6. Scroby. I don't hate Marvin like most but he can get grating at times. Scroby just seems like a swell guy.

INDIANA BASIN SILTMilky. Milky is pretty much the raddest guy in this whole place. also, red jed, wtfMan in Blak, cause, uh, idunno, why the fuck notGinger Snaps, cause the Jamie Lynn Spears thread lost Ripper major points. I smell an early upset!Agent, cause, uh, I don't know. Because he's the higher seed?Venkman, for having the best username/avatar/signature combo on the siteNightwing, even though I love reading the abbreviation "cndn gtrst" dwn wth vwlsI'm Matt Youngin' itKKK, cause he's cool and stuff

HELP, I'M A ROCK (IS THIS A SYLVESTER AND THE MAGIC PEBBLE REFERENCE?)Kamala has excellent taste in musicNYU, because I'm not voting for any of the GaryBettmanAvatarMakesMeIndistinguishable groupKing is a Jaguars fan, which I think is funny because he also roots for LA teams. It's like he's getting a head start.Rant. Rant got robbed seeding wise.Slayer cause i don't know who JN News isSocksquatch, but only because the series of posts about him in the Rychenia Sobaka thread is amazing.Cyber Mark, because he's the only person even reasonably close to me in age.Jingus is cool

CULTURE BEATCzech's name is a place. That's like being named Wyoming, or Jerusalem. Vote for that.Devo, mets fans uniteKinetic, even though I frequently confuse him with Matt YoungPbone! Rookie of the Year!VX because The Franchise has a generic usernameGary Floyd, because, uh,El Dandy, cause he used to mark out 4 chris daniels but he became too well knownCowboy#s, cause he's totally stuck with this nickname now.

POWDERFINGERIs TaigaStar really in this and not me? I either have to become more well liked, or less well liked if I want to get in this thing next year. You know what? fuck it, I'm voting for TaigaStar, but I'm pronouncing it the way it's supposed to be.Bored. We got to know him a while back.Toughest matchup of the first round. I'll take Inc I guessMacPhisto is amazingAlkeiper owns the sports folderCheech, because I'm not totally sure who AndrewTS isSmues. Also, DoCock isn't really that funny of a nickname.Marvin. He should win.

Milky - Really entertaining. Man in Black - His posts are really long sometimes but he always backs up his arguments well.Ripper - Probably the best guy to talk basketball with, and I usually agree with him.Agent - Tough one.Dr. Venkman - Cartman seems like a good guy but he's too TSMassachusetts for me.Nightwing - Just started posting recently I think and seems like a good poster.Cena's Writer - That's me.KKK - Runs a good pick'em contest, and has given me some advice on journalism. Cool guy.

HIAR Region

Carlito - He's alright.NYU - Tough one so I went with the New Yorker.King - Good poster.Mr. Rant - Tough decision, but I went with Rant cause he answered some stuff about XBox for me. Appreciated.Slayer - Funny guy.Carnival Mole - Cause he likes Harry PotterTreble

Black Lushus - Cool guy, Knick fan.Kreese - Tough one, but his avatar is the best.IncandenzaE. MacPhisto - Likes Wu-Tang.Al - Great poster.Cheech - Brings good arguments all the time. Still not sure who he roots for in the NBA and NFL.Smues - Good poster.Marvin

To review the voting guidelines from the first thread, no gimmicks, no inactives, and no abstaining from more than one match. Explain votes when you can. Ridiculously simple. Without further ado, here are the brackets for the tournament, featuring the matchups for the first round.

Define "inactive". I've been here every week, participating in the kkk bowl; am I active enough to vote?

Ouch, I get the 8-9 matchup. I might still have a winnable contest in the second round if I get that far, who knows.

For anyone having trouble voting in my matchup, remember that I run the TSM Death Pool, and NYU started a vote for me thread. That's all.

Indiana Basin Silt Region

Milky - Duh.Man in Blak - He usually has pretty intelligent posts.Ripper - I don't agree with him a lot of the time, but he knows his stuff.bigolsmitty - Because I wanted to vote for a massive underdog somewhere.Dr. Venkman - Because he earned my respect by beating me last year.CG - This was tough, because Nightwing's one of the 2 or 3 best new posters, but I have to go with fellow Canucks.Cena's Writer - Even though he didn't vote for me.kkk - For running the kkk Bowl, even though I sucked ass this year.

Help, I'm a Rock Region

King Kamala Classic - The exception to the fellow Canucks rule.CanadianChris - Vote for me, I did.King - Good hockey poster, and a fellow Laker fan.KOAB - Why not.Slayer - He's good people.Carnival - Because I hate following the herd.Cyber Mark Maddentreble - I like him as a Jays fan more than I hate him as a Leafs fan.

Culture Beat Region

Czech - Is Timmy the one with the Borat avatar?AlfdoggKingPK - Because of his signature.snuffbox - I don't know much about either of them, so I went with the upset.Vitamin X - Good football poster.Youth N AsiaEl DandyBob Barron - Where'd he go, anyway?

Powderfinger Region

Black Lushus - Obvious. My pick to win it all, or flame out spectacularly in the second round.Bored - For giving me a crack at his money every year.Spaceman Spiff - For being my personal punching bag in the BoredCS for so many years.Edwin - One of my favourite posters.alkeiper - PIMP DADDY~!Cheech - Never disappoints.Smues - I like Alaskans.Scroby - I like him better than Marvin, who's actually not a bad poster when he's not posting about the Ravens.

I took the time to rewrite each name and region, bold all of my picks, and make witty remarks about every single poster. Sadly, the space I was typing in here disappeared for some unknown reason, and there was nothing I could do. I'll repost shortly.

IBSR:MilkyMiBGinger Snaps - Ripper's great & all, but GS is an up-and-comer.Agent - tough call, I like both guys. Agent & I traded music a while back, so he gets the win.Venkman - Tuxedo Mask! Plus, the other guy is a Pats fan.CanGuitarCena's WriterKKK - another tough call, but I'm doing well in KKK's football pick-em, so I'll throw him some love.

PR:Lushus - this should really be a shutout.Kreese - tough call. I sucked in Bored's college football pick-em, so I'll take out my anger here.Spiff - hey, that's me! I'd vote for Inc if he wasn't facing me.Edwin - Bulb is cool, too. Edwin has seniority, though.Alkeiper - fellow Phillies fan.Cheech - but both guys are a bit too nerdy about their posting passions (video games / baseball)SmuesScroby - haha, "scroty". Marvin hasn't had a good year.